Chapter Text
December 31st 1983
Mike’s head was dizzy with ecstasy. He was sitting on Mandy’s couch next to Jeremy, who was making out with some girl next to him. It was ten minutes before midnight. Mike stood up to get another drink, but threw up on the carpet in front of him, dropping to his knees.
“Hey dude, you okay?” slurred Jeremy, who pulled from the girls lips.
“I’m fine,” Mike muttered.
“You’re not, dude. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Jeremy took Mike’s wrists and led him to the empty bathroom, where Mike dropped to his knees again and threw up inside the toilet bowl as Jeremy held Mike’s hand for comfort.
Mike’s head lifted up from the toilet and glanced at the boy in front of him.
“Jerry…”
“Jerry?” smirked Jeremy.
“I— Jerry, I’m so sick of seeing your stupid face.”
“The feeling’s mutual,” confirmed Jeremy.
“The fuck does mutual mean?”
“Oh bless you,” laughed Jeremy. “I’ll get you a glass of water and some food.”
“Wait, don’t go, Jerry.”
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William signalled the bartender for another drink. The man shook his head.
“Don’t you think you’ve had enough, old man?”
The bartender was smug as fuck. William wanted to strangle the smirk out of him.
“Fuck you.”
William held up his middle finger in response, and stormed out of the bar.
In his car, he sped drunkenly to the pizzeria, which was open till late tonight for parents to get wasted and for children to play into 1984.
Charlie was outside. Henry’s daughter. He always let her be so… different. It was bizarre. She always had black and white striped gloves and a fuck ton of band tshirts that would make Will go mad. Whatever. 12 year olds have their phases.
She was crying her eyeliner down her face outside of the pizzeria.
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Jeremy sat back down.
“I was only gonna–”
“Shh!”
Jeremy closed his mouth, admiring Mike.
“Dude….you….how do you….”
“How do I do what?”
“....Live. Looking like that.”
“10!”
People from the living room shouted.
“Fuck. No– I-”
“9!”
“Looking like… what?” chuckled Jeremy.
“8!”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“7!”
“It sounded like that.”
“6!”
“5!”
“...Are you insulting me, Michael Schmidt?”
“4!”
The way he uttered Mike’s name was in some sort of mocking way intended to imitate but only enhanced his magnetism.
“3!”
“2!”
Fuck it.
“1!”
Mike leaned in to Jeremy’s warmness and kissed him, his hand instinctively coming up to the back of Jeremy’s neck.
“Happy New Year!”
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“10!”
Called out the kids from inside the pizzeria.
“9!”
Charlie’s annoying sobs only got louder.
“8!”
The kids were all occupied. Surely… no one would bat an eye to the door for a second?
“7!”
William’s hand snaked around Charlie’s face and clamped across her mouth as he pulled her into the dark alleyway adjacent to the pizzeria, in between that and the abandoned building next to it.
“6!”
“5!”
William grabbed a glass shard from the broken window.
“4!”
He stared at Charlie, who was frantically shaking her head and screaming.
“3!”
William smiled. Should he smile? No. But he did.
“2!”
“1!”
He pushed the knife into Charlie. Blood spewed out. William’s pressure and stress released like Charlie was a balloon and deflated due to the glass shard.
“Happy New Year!”